Moratorium needed for Marcellus drilling

September 3, 2011

With Marcellus drilling there is a very real possibility that the drilling process will release so much methane that it will do as much damage to the environment as coal. It is a matter of public health and doing irreparable damage to the environment we depend on.

This state is blessed with unmatched natural resources and beauty. But for too long our politicians have done the bidding of the wealthy. The history of this state is that our riches have been allowed to flow out and our citizens have been left to suffer the consequences of a ravaged landscape, oppression and poverty; ie. poor infrastructure and roads, substandard health care, education and libraries, and obesity, diabetes, smoking, drug use, and drop out rates that are among the highest in the country.

The Marcellus gas was put here by God and its extraction should not be allowed to benefit only the few owners while threatening the well being of the rest of us. It is a resource that will bring a few individuals immense wealth and power. At the very least, they should be required to exploit it without harming the citizens of this state and the environment that sustains and nourishes us. Right now, there are many unresolved questions about Marcellus gas drilling. The common sense answer would be to wait, have a moratorium on drilling, until these questions are answered, or the drilling technology advances, to the point that the state can be assured drilling will not harm the people and our environment.

Every day that the gas stays underground, it only becomes more valuable. So why is there this rush to exploit it now? It could only be because right now there are no strong regulations that protect our citizens and in this void the rich and powerful can line their pockets while the rest of us are left to pick up the scraps. It is high time that our representatives stopped being the handmaidens of the wealthy and began to truly represent us. The common sense solution is to have a moratorium on Marcellus drilling until these issues can be resolved.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently said, "When the state controls industry, we call it Communism. When the wealthy class controls the government, it is called Fascism." That is the case in our country today. The answer is to vote "the bums out." And that will only happen after real campaign reform that takes big money out of politics. In the past 12 years, we have wasted the lives of our citizens and our country's fortune in an attempt to spread democracy abroad. We have taken on so much debt that it is now difficult to solve domestic problems such as a lack of jobs and a faltering economy, all while the upper class has feasted. It is time to elect people who have the fortitude to stand up for the common good. It is time to bring democracy to the USA.